Earnest and silly by turns, it doesn’t quite capture the attention or the imagination, although surely its heart is in the...
Rhymed couplets convey the story of a girl who likes to build things but is shy about it. Neither the poetry nor Rosie’s projects always work well.
Rosie picks up trash and oddments where she finds them, stashing them in her attic room to work on at night. Once, she made a hat for her favorite zookeeper uncle to keep pythons away, and he laughed so hard that she never made anything publicly again. But when her great-great-aunt Rose comes to visit and reminds Rosie of her own past building airplanes, she expresses her regret that she still has not had the chance to fly. Great-great-aunt Rose is visibly modeled on Rosie the Riveter, the iconic, red-bandanna–wearing poster woman from World War II. Rosie decides to build a flying machine and does so (it’s a heli-o-cheese-copter), but it fails. She’s just about to swear off making stuff forever when Aunt Rose congratulates her on her failure; now she can go on to try again. Rosie wears her hair swooped over one eye (just like great-great-aunt Rose), and other figures have exaggerated hairdos, tiny feet and elongated or greatly rounded bodies. The detritus of Rosie’s collections is fascinating, from broken dolls and stuffed animals to nails, tools, pencils, old lamps and possibly an erector set. And cheddar-cheese spray.
Earnest and silly by turns, it doesn’t quite capture the attention or the imagination, although surely its heart is in the right place. (historical note) (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4197-0845-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A strong addition to the chorus of voices demanding action.
A Brazilian professional surfer recalls challenges overcome in her youth and expresses strong environmental concerns.
Depicted in Kaulitzki’s nautical-themed illustrations as a figure of ambiguous age with light brown skin and evocatively flowing hair, Gabeira dives into her story as she dives visually over and under the waves—writing rapturously in third person about how neither asthma nor bullies kept her from catching waves or exploring and delighting in the wonders of the bright “rainforest of the sea.” After swimming with whales and sea turtles, she encounters a great white shark trailing fragments of fishing net who warns her of the dangers of overfishing and plastic pollution. “Life here is disappearing fast,” he tells her. “Please be our voice.” And so in response she returns to the shore to speak to small groups, to join sign-wielding marchers, and overall to deliver a message: “The ocean is in danger, and we must protect it. The time to act is now!” In more personal language, she closes with a restatement of that message, with leads to ocean conservation organizations with which she works. Figures in her audiences are racially diverse but uniformly serious in their cause.
A strong addition to the chorus of voices demanding action. (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781419760013
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Instructive, fun, and heartwarming.
Filled with avian antics, this comic-style early reader teaches kids to count pairs.
On Ava’s birthday, Mom gives the child a cake, ribbons, and a “very messy bird.” The bird, Ava explains, was originally part of a pair: “That’s two. Now there is only one.” The energetic parrot raises such a ruckus that Ava and Mom decide to take her to the park. Ava, who uses a manual wheelchair, is overwhelmed when the leashed bird vexes a popcorn vendor. Later, they meet a friendly pair: elderly Anne and another parrot, named Sadie. Back at home, Ava mulls a name for the bird. Lilly sounds good. But when Mom tries to teach Lilly to say her own name, the bird repeats, “My name is Mandy”—Mom’s name! Ava’s attempts to explain the concept of pairs are more successful. When Lilly flies off without her leash, Mom and Ava panic. Ava reminds Mom that they, too, are a pair. “I LOVE being paired with you,” Mom says…and suddenly, both realize where Lilly is. Adler’s simple text and Elliott’s bright, expressive cartoon illustrations sweetly demonstrate pairs as both a numerical concept and an emotional bond; a family photo with three figures implies that one parent is gone. Ava’s solution to Lilly’s name conundrum provides a humorous, satisfying conclusion. Ava, Mom, and Anne have tan skin; background characters are racially diverse.
Instructive, fun, and heartwarming. (Graphic early reader. 5-6)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2024
ISBN: 9780823451548
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
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